Expert offers travel alert advice

>>> be on the lookout for any suspicious if traveling in europe . sweden, japan, the uk and the u.s. are reminding travelers of the potential for an al qaeda attack in europe . there are hundreds of thousands of americans in europe right now and just as many opinions about the alert.

>> so we're just going to be a little bit cautious now getting on the train and in the airport.

>> i'm still going to happily travel all through out europe . for right now i might avoid paris, berlin, london .

>> reporter: george hobica is the president of airfarewatchdog.com. what was your sense of security after staying in london ?

>> i was staying in a hotel and they were searching cars in the area. i didn't know at the time what was going on. i thought it was kind of odd.

>> what about places in london where a lot of tourists go, piccadilly or trafalgar square . were there still tourists frequenting those high-traffic areas?

>> london was packed, very full trains. i think if people are paranoid, don't take the subway. stay in a hotel that's not a high profile hotel, maybe a b&b. stay on a lower floor. that's always good advice, stay on the first or second floor.

>> the critics say this is not very helpful to tourists because it's not very specific. but what do you -- people who go to your website, what kind of advice would you give them about planning and booking travel now to europe ?

>> i think contessa the chances of something happening to a particular individual are less than having -- drowning in your bathtub. nothing is probably going to happen. i don't want to sound pollyannaish --

>> considering how many people travel in europe , even if there were a plot t likelihood you would be part of it -- but you just gave us a few pieces of advice. would you advise travelers to stay away from the eiffel tower ?

>> absolutely. if you really want to play it super safe, stay away from major tourist attractions , don't take public transportation . don't stay in name brand large hotels.

>> let me ask you, what's the impact on travel destinations, on hotels and restaurants and people who rely for a living on tourists coming through?

>> i frankly think that people radio looking for an excuse not to go, this will be the ticket for them. most people are going to go. i think it's too vague a warning.

>> george, thank you for sharing